It’s well-known that a cup of good tea can work wonders after a long, stressful day. Research even suggests that tea can extend your life. Now, authors of a new study have revealed that this beloved beverage saved many lives back in the 1700s. Researchers found that the rise in tea’s popularity across England during the Industrial Revolution was linked to a decrease in mortality rates, even when sanitary conditions were dire. According to scientists, this was likely because boiling water for tea killed off bacteria and parasites that caused deadly diseases like dysentery.
Professor Francisca Antman from the University of Colorado Boulder noted, “The most remarkable part is that this happened before we understood the importance of clean water.”
Facts indicate that tea became accessible to nearly every Englishman by the late 1780s, during the Industrial Revolution, the researcher added. This period saw a significant increase in urban population density. Because people often lived in cramped conditions, they couldn’t avoid serious infectious diseases. There must have been times when mortality rates soared due to these illnesses. However, according to Ms. Antman, “there was a remarkable decline in mortality that can be attributed to the advent of tea and, more specifically, the boiling of water.”
Dysentery, a severe gastrointestinal disease known as “bloody flux,” was responsible for numerous deaths in various countries during the 18th century. In some regions of Europe, 90 percent of all deaths were caused by significant outbreaks of dysentery.
What Researchers Discovered
Professor Antman’s team analyzed data from over 400 parishes across England. The scholar enlisted leading demographers and historians who contributed tremendous effort to the project. She also mentioned that this research was made possible by a vast array of historical data that has survived to this day. “Very few places in the world have such data,” she emphasized.
The researchers were primarily interested in how mortality rates changed after tea became popular and widely available. They examined the water sources used in each parish, particularly whether the water was flowing.
Francisca Antman noted, “In areas where we believed water quality was poorer, the introduction of tea was associated with a significant decrease in mortality.” This was mainly because people began boiling water for tea, the Daily Mail reported.
Key Takeaways
In many developing countries, access to clean water remains a challenge even in the 21st century. Professor Antman believes that England’s obsession with tea serves as an example of how a simple behavioral change—boiling water before consumption—can have profound positive effects. People altered their behavior simply because they wanted to drink tea, the researcher concluded.
Thus, this look back into history offers lessons for today’s world, where many people still lack access to clean drinking water.